Shigeo Aizawa
|homecountry = |affiliation = |previous affiliation = |partner = None |classification = |reg = 54-032 |hiden = |nature = |jutsu = |family = (Lifepartner) Akagi (Foster Son) |kanji = 重夫藍澤 |occupation = Genjutsu Specialist Leader of the Mirage Corps Gardener }} Shigeo Aizawa (重夫藍澤, "Luxuriant Man, Indigo Swamp") formerly known as Shigeo Kobayashi (重夫小林, "Luxuriant Man, Small Forest"), is a high-profile Shinobi of Sunagakure. Born without the ability to speak, Shigeo has never once said a single word to anyone since he was born, suffering from a particularly severe case of expressive aphasia, disabling him from producing language, either spoken or written. Because of this, Shigeo had great difficulties growing up and felt perpetually isolated from the world around him - his desperation for contact, for the desire to be seen, recognized and most tragically of all, heard, ultimately lead Shigeo down a long road to become one of the most widely acclaimed users of of the current era. For the last twelve years, Shigeo has relied almost exclusively upon genjutsu for communication with others, using the mental imagery and phantom sounds it produces to effectively "talk". Before he became skilled enough in the use of genjutsu to employ it in such a manner, Shigeo instead relied entirely on the language of flowers in an attempt to communicate with others. This sadly tended to fail utterly due to how floriography was an art which was very rarely practiced in Sunagakure, due to how its arid and harsh climate made cultivating lasting plantlife almost impossible. Shigeo would thus devote a great deal of his early life to understanding each of the symbolic meanings of the flowers he cultivated himself, all in a mostly futile attempt to exist in a society largely content to ignore him. Shigeo's isolation was only ever broken once before he learned enough about genjutsu to become capable of actual conversations. This was in the Academy, when a then twelve-year old Kankurō acknowledged his presence by asking him what his name was, this was extremely simple gesture, and although Shigeo couldn't answer it at the time; he spent a lot of time trying to cultivate hydrangea just to show his heartfelt gratitude for Kankurō being one of the first people to ever actually acknowledge him as a person, despite how little he thought about it at the time. He would then leave a bouquet composed of hydrangea and rosemaries subtly conveying the symbolic message of "you have my heartfelt gratitude for understanding me, don't forget me" at Kankurō doorstep during one particular night. Appearance In his youth, Shigeo suffered issues of low self-esteem and self-worth based upon his inability to speech and the oft reinforced notion that he was somehow different and less skilled or talented than others based upon his defects. In his desire to be seen and heard, Shigeo would attempt to draw attention to himself in the only way he knew how, by being as striking and visually shocking as possible. Thus, in his younger years at the academy, Shigeo would frequently dress in outrageous clothing simply for the shock value of doing so, despite not enjoying doing so in the least. While these things were usually successful, they were only briefly so until his classmates found something else to care about; which happened very quickly. His desperate, even pathetic attempts to get people to notice him only truly served to isolate him even more; and making others assume that there was indeed something quite wrong with him. When it turned out that showing up to the academy classes dressed in pink frills didn't elicit any reaction, Shigeo all but gave up and decided to instead focus on everything else. Although he still kept wearing more and more striking and obvious clothes all throughout the academy, hoping that he could actually make some friends and be acknowledged as being a person, not simply being the guy who couldn't talk. However, as Shigeo grew progressively older, his choice of clothing would change to more neutral and darker colors as he became more and more secure of his place in the world. His gradually increasing confidence reflected in how he would behave and dress; despite his lack of speech, and his impaired ability to write, which he had once lamented to no end. As a grown man, Shigeo stands at a respectable 5'11 feet in height, only a few inches shorter than his better half, typically being seen wearing clothes of primarily neutral colors in order to, ironically enough, leave less of a presence in a group. Shigeo has matured into a fairly handsome man, with high cheekbones and a well-defined jawline; also being in possession of sharp and striking features which catches the attention of most he meets, something he, stemming from a childhood of isolation and solitude is greatly pleased by. His attractive appearance being a trait which he enjoys and which gives him a fair degree of confidence. Shigeo's body, while toned like that of any other shinobi, remains less so than most others he encounters due to his preference for the illusory arts as opposed to ninjutsu or Taijutsu, both which require substantial amounts of physical endurance and training and the body he does have, is trained for mobility in mind. Shigeo's most striking feature is his eyes, which are of a particularly vivid shade of red, almost resembling the red roses he would sometimes attempt to nurture into bloom during his earlier years; while beautiful and almost mesmerizing to behold, Shigeo's eyes are regrettably often confused for Sharingan by unknowledgeable bounty hunters seeking to make easy money. Which has resulted in more than one unwelcome situation where Shigeo has been forced to kill would-be assailants in self-defense for basically no true reason at all, an act which he despises with a passion. Shigeo's raven hair, colored the darkest shade of black is a most unfortunate addition to his eyes, as it makes his appearance all the more striking and fitting for the common misconception of how Uchiha actually look. As most individuals born after the fourth war remain blissfully unaware of what Uchiha actually look like, being instead dependent on the often exaggerated or faulty descriptions of older shinobi. In their eyes, Shigeo is as close as they get, to the degree that he resembles their own warped picture of their appearance to a greater degree than the actual Uchiha themselves. Personality During his early years, Shigeo was a deeply uncertain and unhappy child; feeling as though the world in which he lived in didn't accommodate him, thinking himself an observer in his own life, his inability to truly exist was one of the driving forces in his life; as he would work tirelessly towards the goal of acquiring the life that everyone else took for granted. His desperation for recognition, acknowledgement and companionship would lead him to try many possible avenues, such as dressing in clothing meant to arouse opinions to even being desperate enough to learn the art of floriography simply in the unlikely off-chance that someone might understand what he wished to say. He'd pour every fiber of his being into the art of floriography, clinging to the hope that someone in Sunagakure would be able to understand him, or at the very least be willing to attempt to understood what he attempted to convey. He'd learn how to cultivate plantlife even in the arid heat of the deserts of wind, even being skilled enough to ensure that they survived the heat - for while others would treat the flowers as flowers and not give them the proper care, to Shigeo, they were more worth than gold. Not only were they proof of his existence, his affect on the world around him, his ability to cultivate new life, even if he had none of his own. In addition to being indispensable for their ability to convey emotions and words silently, they were his tongue and his anchor to reality. This bond to flowers and plants would persist even after he acquired the ability to use genjutsu to effectively speak, his extremely intimate connection to plantlife of all kinds, his expertise as a gardener and his green fingers later becoming the foundation of much of his genjutsu. As the leader of the rather recently established Mirage Corps of Sunagakure; Shigeo is known to be a strict and extremely demanding superior, who expects nothing but the best from his subordinates. Regularly chastising them for anything they do wrong, although he's known to give them great praise if they impress him. Even resorting to having those who make good examples flaunt their findings to their fellow squad mates - thus, Shigeo inspires an environment of friendly competition within the corps, which serves to accelerate each members individual progress, even while he inspires teamwork and cooperation. As a man who communicates through genjutsu projected from his very mind and thoughts, Shigeo is noted to be extremely honest and blunt, and he answers most questions with a form of brutal honesty which is transmitted by pictures, sensations and projected emotions as opposed to speech. This honesty is usually well-received as it simultaneously informs them of everything they need to work on, everything which Shigeo would dislike about them and everything he enjoys about them. This form of honesty does however make his interactions with those of noble standing a bit forced and therefore he rarely "speaks" in their presence, due to the risk of "saying" something that might offend them. Beyond being a talented and charismatic leader, in his own unique way, Shigeo is also a widely respected teacher of genjutsu, capable of teaching this notoriously difficult art to even those whom would otherwise be fairly unreceptive of its uses. After the formation of the Mirage Corps, Shigeo and his subordinates have frequently made visits to the Sunagakure Academy to scout for students whom they believe could hold promise for the subtle art of genjutsu if they received good training, and due to how the corps are the most advanced force of genjutsu users in Sunagakure; and some would say, the world. The quality of their training is usually quite exquisite, and thus Sunagakure has over the course of roughly a decade managed to strongly increase its place within the shinobi world. With ninja from all over the world travelling to the land of wind to train underneath them, something which nets the village great funds - many of these visiting shinobi are explicably expected to train underneath Shigeo himself, though only a few pass his extremely strict and challenging entrance exams. As a teacher, Shigeo is known to be a very severe and determined tutor, who frequently subjects his students to extremely challenging and tiring training regimes meant to strengthen their perception, mental resistance, faculties, attention to detail, knowledge of genjutsu and perhaps most important of all, suppress their own ego to be capable of delving deeper into the artform itself. With Shigeo claiming that only those whom are capable and willing of detaching themselves from the primitive world and its restrictive realities are worthy students, students are abandoned and removed from the program seemingly at random, for even the slightest mistakes and as soon as Shigeo understands that their ability to visualize becomes limited and soiled by primitive beliefs and the inclusion of logic. The Mirage Corps are likewise extremely demanding teachers in their own right, and they expect no less from their students than Shigeo does; none of them have any qualms with subjecting their apprentices to almost inhuman exercises meant to challenge their beliefs, hopes and dreams in the most ruthless manner possible. As nothing else is good enough for them. As a man who's lived most of his life trying to exist in a world which often unwittingly ignored his presence, Shigeo has developed a rather unusual view on life and her mysteries. While making decisions, he's been described as being capable of detaching himself from his own primitive viewpoints and ideals and examine a subject with keen philosophical interest, unburdened by his personal feelings in the matter. Even should the life of the man the loves more than anything else be at stake, Shigeo would still remain entirely composed and capable of making decisions, this is all due to his background of being ignored and forced to fight dearly for every scrap of recognition, and made to draw attention to himself excessively simple to be greeted with a friendly "hello". This meant that Shigeo for a long time felt that he only existed due to how he affected, influenced and changed the world around him, a belief that partially lead to his fascination with flowers and plants, whom were all living proofs of his own existence. This mindset thus now allows Shigeo to momentarily disconnect himself from himself; ignoring his own wishes and desires and looking at the world through a view that is as objective as its possible to be. Shigeo's ability to callously disregard the feelings of himself and others, even where his loved ones are concerned have given him a reputation for being a cold man. Relationship with Kankurō Kankurō and Shigeo met for the first time while he was staying at the academy, where the future puppeteer one day gave him a gruff greeting after Shigeo had raised his hand as a weak greeting. It should've been such a meaningless and rude gesture, but Shigeo felt his heart swell with happiness at simply that small measure of acknowledgement, even if it had been rudely conveyed. To show how much he appreciated Kankurō's greeting he decided to learn how to communicate with him somehow, which sparked a deep fascination with genjutsu after he had learned that it was possible for genjutsu users to communicate with others telepathically. However, he was upset to find that there was no way for him to learn genjutsu while still at the academy. While it would've been a simple task for anyone other than Shigeo to inquire about where he might find someone to teach him genjutsu - this was impossible due to his condition. In an attempt to learn to communicate effectively enough to actually be capable of asking a simple question, Shigeo turned to an alternative known as floriography; an art practiced by some shinobi in order to be capable of delivering cryptic messages in the guise of neat gifts. Studying the art intently, Shigeo also quickly turned into an accomplished florist; being capable of identifying plants by their meanings, shape, colors and other more minor details which someone else would be likely to overlook. Once he had grown capable of communicating to a respectable degree (by the age of 14) he began to use his acquired botanic knowledge to make a bouquet which would enable to convey his wishes of a teacher to one of the Chūnin working at the Academy. Before he did so however, he brought a book detailing floriography with him as a dictionary to ensure that whomever he questioned would be capable of understanding his message. His message was conveyed in the form of a bouquet of mauve-colored carnations and a self-made (and immaculately drawn) drawing of cherry blossoms; as he had found it impossible to find those particular flowers anywhere in Sunagakure, or even cultivate them himself. With the intended message of "I want a good education in the dreams of fantasy", hoping that the man would understand. But like everything in his life, even getting the attention of the man proved very difficult and it wasn't until Shigeo brutally tugged at his clothes that he finally looked down at him. Literally shoving the bouquet into the Chūnin's arms before opening the dictionary and gesturing wildly to the relevant words that he wanted to convey, it took quite a bit of time before the Chūnin finally understood what he wished to convey and gave him instructions on where he could find someone to teach him genjutsu, moved by Shigeo's plight. The pity was however shortlived as Shigeo snatched the bouquet and the drawing straight out of the chūnin's hands before storming up to meet with the mentioned shinobi. When he, with much difficulty managed to inform the genjutsu specialist of his desire to learn genjutsu; the specialist was moved by the plight of the young boy, and resolved to teach him genjutsu so that he might truly live. To his teachers, Shigeo was soon understood be greatly gifted in the art of genjutsu - and where others would struggle to learn the basics, Shigeo's peculiar lifestyle and experiences enabled him to grasp the art with little issue. Even those who taught him understood quickly that his progress required little help, it was as if he had been meant to learn the art in the first place, although they suspected that it was just that his great desire to exist pushed him onward. Whatever it was though, Shigeo progressed by leaps and bounds in the art and amazed his mentors with his immense enthusiasm and ability - however, he found that communication by genjutsu was much more difficult than he had first assumed. Background Born to two civilians residing in Sunagakure, Shigeo was soon discovered to suffer from a pretty severe case of expressive aphasia, disabling him from forming coherent sentences or talk at all. His parents were heartbroken to find that their son was different from the children of everyone else, they felt they had failed him and would throughout his early years treat Shigeo with extra care and tenderness, they treated him like he had a defect, that he was different. Although they had his best interests at heart, this treatment left Shigeo feeling detached and isolated from everyone else by his differences. While he wished he could protest against their treatment of him, wanting more than anything to be treated just like everyone else, his inability to speak disallowed him from doing even that; and so he would continue living his early years up until he became old enough to attend the Academy. Due to his inability to speak, his parents didn't want Shigeo to attend the academy, believing that there was no way he would succeed to become a shinobi; and also being aware of the great dangers and burdens placed on him, even should he succeed against all odds. Once again, Shigeo's wishes were overruled due to how he was different from the rest, and how he was incapable of actively defending his opinion, he was largely caroled through life by his overprotective, guilt-ridden and overbearing parents. Knowing that there was no chance of him ever becoming anything than their silent son unless he forcibly took matters into his own hands, Shigeo proceeded to run away from home in order to enlist at the Academy, only barely managing to write his full name. Once this was completed, he knew there was no turning back unless he failed, and despite the dangers, he felt good about what he had done, as he was no longer at the beck-and-call of his parents the way he used to be. His parents, while they hated the thought of him attending the academy were still pleased that he had shown himself capable of making decisions on his own, no matter how much they disagreed. Besides, they still firmly believed that there was no way for him to become a shinobi, lacking the ability to either write or talk as he did. Their lack of faith in him didn't go unnoticed however, but at that point, Shigeo no longer cared, he had succeeded in taking control over his own existence. Even if the time ahead would be extremely difficult. Abilities Genjutsu Most users of genjutsu, approach the art for a reason, these reasons are varied and many, some use genjutsu for interrogation, its a highly effective approach by all means. Others use genjutsu for psychotherapy and mental healing, others still use genjutsu for combat. All of these are valid, all of these would be considered correct. Even so, they're inferior. All of these are bound by a single limitation, they have their own views on existence, and their own understanding of what is and isn't possible. Their art is thus flawed, as no spell can truly overcome anything if its very caster is a disbeliever. All of the previous learned genjutsu to fulfill an objective, Shigeo learned it in order to live. Words are what give our existence meaning. Its how we communicate. Without them, we have no voice, no power, nothing. Its a fundamental of our society. The greatest and most influential are almost always those who can give a rallying speech. Words move people, words change people, without them we are nothing. Shigeo questions the very notion of such an idea. If words are the means through which we validate our own existence, then what was he, if nothing more than an illusion? For someone whose lived their life like this, the idea that words may be false, may be untruthful indicates that the validation of ones existence may also be false. Thus, Shigeo is convinced that the world we all live in, is merely an illusion that all share in. Shigeo is not so much casting a genjutsu as much as he's merely changing his view on the world, quite like a lucid dreamer. He believes this, with everything he's got, he thinks, therefore he is, there is nothing else. To Shigeo, those who would deny this are the truly insane, and easily susceptible to his genjutsu. Because he deems reality to be an illusion, Shigeo's genjutsu is very much real, in the sense that a word is still a word even if you chose to close your eyes. The word has still been spoken, and its existence was assured. If reality is an illusion, then attempting to ignore it is futile, as all is relative. Shigeo has demonstrated his abilities several times, having made several persistent conjurations. One such effect is a "tree" Shigeo created outside the Academy of Sunagakure. Shown to most of the academy students and several high-ranking members of the Mirage Corps it was forged into reality, with others being capable of interacting with it as a real object. This tree is however a testimony to his talents, as his abilities are so extremely difficult to disbelieve that even this tree, which is composed of blue flames in the shape of a sakura, have managed to remain within the world. Shigeo demonstrated the his constructions "reality" by plucking down a fiery flower of blue from its crown and giving it to a young student. It remains to this say, silently mocking reality, its persistence fuelled by the belief of everyone in the village. Language of Flowers The Language of Flowers is an ancient one, and in a world of endless promises, lies and deceit, it is the only true constant. It is widely accepted that words hold power, what then of words not spoken? What of the words that grow, stretch up to meet the sun, those words are pure, infallible and infinitely powerful - for they don't easily change. Shigeo can expect them to stay the way they are, for normal words are but sounds unless they're placed in a context, but flowers have innate meaning. The Language of Flowers is a fighting style developed by Shigeo, it's composed entirely of the wonders of genjutsu, where Shigeo expresses his belief in floriography, and art that for many years was the only thing that defined him as "real", onto the world around him, conjuring wonders and miracles which leave both allies and foes in awe. In battle, the words of flowers are real, and through this imagined reality in a world where everything else has ceased to be, projects upon these illusions a powerful substance. They exist, yet does not, they can be touched, but there is no actual physical sensation felt. They're like dreams given form and shape by Shigeo's view of the world and the mystical powers he's come to possess. The Language of Flowers is extremely dangerous, and it is often underestimated for it's innocent almost childlike appearance - with enemies often being surprised to find themselves surrounded by rose petals, dandelions or other well-known flowers, whose real life counterparts are entirely harmless but whose spiritual counterparts are capable of inflicting lasting psychological and spiritual damage to a target. It is believed that the language of flowers does good or ill to others depending on what words they represent, and that multiple flowers could create something as powerful as an actual sentence, which redefines the surrounding world to reflect the sentence itself, a sentence that can be changed or expanded upon as Shigeo wishes. Opponents attempting to oppose Shigeo might find themselves overwhelmed by elemental fury of all primary natures, scorched by intense heat, frozen by frigid cold, drown and crushed by raging waters, electrocuted by blasts of lightning or even destroyed by large boulders appearing practically out of nowhere. Likewise, they might experience the terror of the language of flowers first hand. Having their very personalities torn apart, remade and then torn apart again in but a few moments. Opponents whom have faced Shigeo often die shortly afterwards, or alternatively turn insane and demented due to the forces wrought on their fragile minds. Those who do not experience these things often find that the experience, despite how simple it should've been, has changed them on a fundamental level. They no longer look at the world through the same eyes, the way they look at themselves, and others has often shifted to reflect Shigeo's own beliefs, with them becoming distant. Through these powers, Shigeo has been known to turn enemies against one another, by convincing their mind and spirit that even their close friends are their enemies, and that the threat is too large to sit idly by. His powers have also enabled him to turn foe into friend, manipulating their very perception of him and making them spill their deepest secrets and reveal the dark sides of their own villages, as well as often informing him about how their abilities work, all for the simple purpose of gaining his approval. For this reason, Shigeo remains one of Sunagakure's greatest interrogation experts. Roses The Rose is the most popular of all flowers in the world, its petals, colored many a shade always convey something significant, such as the eponymous message "I Love You" that is so often attributed to red roses. Indeed, because of how each rose has a meaning, and how each meaning is different, the rose commands the greatest powers of recognition among any flower, and as such, it remains central to Shigeo's personal genjutsu art: The Language of Flowers. Through them, Shigeo can influence himself, friends, foes and clients alike in ways which few ninjutsu techniques ever could. Among his most notable achievements is using the red rose to construct highly elaborate intrigues and sowing discord and disunity within others, primarily by inducing infatuations so extremely powerful so as to be confused with true love. =Red = The Red Rose is a symbol of love, undying passion and other intense feelings of affection and these words and meanings are accented and empowered when the red rose is given together in a bouquet composed of others of it's like. While it would seem that the red rose would lend little power to a combatant, this is not truly the case; for the symbolic power of the red rose depends as much upon Shigeo's own concept of what it is like, as it relies on the actual "words" the flower conveys itself. For Shigeo, the red rose represents love, that much is true, and it is in fact powered by his own love for Kankurō, but the way Shigeo envisions love as a force is the true power of the red rose. Shigeo is known to liken his love to the man of his life as an unstoppable blaze, a flame burning vividly within the confines of his heart. By using this form of the Language of Flowers, Shigeo is projecting those feelings upon the world and using them to enact a change. Whenever Shigeo manifests his powers as the red rose, he conjures forth representations of this in the form of thousands of crimson rose petals, as these petals flutter through the air they live trails of wispy scarlet fires in their wake, whose intensity are only surpassed by the black flames of . As the petals whirl together and are grasped by the wind, these wispy flames are soon fanned into a whirling firestorm that engulfs large areas. While used in the Wind Desert, these scarlet flames of passion, lust and love have been known to greatly alter the environment, turning the previously fine dunes of sand into pyramids of the clearest glass. While it would seem that the fiery petals are at the command of forces outside Shigeo's control, this is a grossly inaccurate assumption, for in heated combat the sand Jōnin is capable of directing the petals through hand gestures, he makes the petals coalesce together and has them assume different shapes, ranging from scarlet "fireballs" the size of large boulders, to numerous scorching whips that slither through the air towards his target. As well as having them whirl around one another at great speeds, creating immense vortexes of fire to entrap enemies. The flames generated by the red rose petals, while identical to ordinary flames, are peculiar in many respects. Firstly, they're composed of an inordinate amount of yin energy, as expected, but even so, they don't appear to be unstable and they burn as easily as real flames. Secondly, the flames, while they burn, they emit no heat at all, and as long as one does not touch the actual flame there is no discomfort to being in it's presence. It's been theorized by those of Suna whom have studied them, that the "flames" summoned are not actual flames as much as they're "burning concepts" of what a flame is for Shigeo, and what a flame represents in his case. They burn, because that is what flames are supposed to do, but they emit no heat or any sensation at all, because to Shigeo, heat doesn't seem relevant in a world of illusion. However, the greatest oddity, and indeed, by far the most lethal aspect of the red petals, is that as they burn - the victim doesn't feel any pain at all. Quite the opposite in fact, because they burn with the intensity of love, they bestow upon the target progressively greater feelings of adoration, love and unrestrained bliss as the flames incinerates their bodies completely. The pleasure inflicted is so great, that the subject loses their grip on reality and submits to the flames without hesitation, not wanting to quench that which brings them such ecstasy. As their bodies burn, all of their happiest memories run through their head in quick succession, making them appreciate everything good in themselves and, as their own self-love, and love of others increase, the flames burn even stronger. Many skilled shinobi have met their demise through the red petals, for in a world as thoroughly dark and twisted as the world of shinobi, it's rare to be embraced by love. Even if that selfsame love turns out to become their own cremation. Victims of this are typically incinerated in scarlet blazes, their faces split in a smile of absolute bliss upon their point of death, and their eyes rolling back into their skull out of pleasure. In Sunagakure, this ability is held in great contempt by many young shinobi, especially kunoichi; because it quite literally twists something as inherently good and wonderful as love into yet another force of destruction, using each of it's many boons and turning them into an extremely elaborate deathtrap. It's considered to be perverse, twisted and cruelly cynical. While Shigeo is largely incapable of defending himself from these claims, Kankurō has stated his opinion on it, citing it as extraordinarily humane. Because there is no fear, no despair or anguish at the point of death, only overwhelming feelings of affection and happiness. In his eyes, it's a true testimony to Shigeo's devotion towards him, and thus he considers it's use to be very flattering, seeing the red petals a symbol of what he and his lover has together. As previously explained, Shigeo has quite a few applications of the red rose, and some of these are particularly common and have consequently gained their own name. Bouqet of Fire: Due to how Shigeo has come to identify the red rose with the element of fire, he's gained the ability to project his view onto flames summoned through the use of ninjutsu. He can correct their appearance in his eyes, turning the wildest blaze into a cloud of these crimson petals. This is accomplished by having his own yin resonate with the yin present in the actual technique, causing it to correct it's form to mirror Shigeo's definition. Using this, Shigeo can counter most fire release techniques fairly easily, turning the flames into his own weapon - though it's noted that the change isn't truly instantenous and it still needs a few moments to take effect. During that time the fire technique would begin to flicker, destabilize and lose much of it's power as it gradually disperses into petals. The intensity of the flames doesn't seem to matter as much as the sheer volume of fire affected, making this application effective even against the flames of . =Blue = The Blue Rose has long been a flower closely associated with mystery, or attaining the impossible as the flower does not exist in nature and can only be made to grow through alchemy or the aid of Ninjutsu. It's been a symbol of love at first sight, reflecting it's striking coloration and vibrant appearance. It's rarely given, but such a gift is always significant, especially if it's in a bouquet of other roses. As the flowers are well-known to complement one another. For Shigeo, these blue flowers are solid manifestations of his world view, the illusion that all share in, the mystery of whether we are and aren't. That is the power of the blue rose. For the rose holds the power to forge our very dreams into reality. Shigeo directs this power onto others, using it to help them or to destroy them. To shatter their mind and bring everything they ever believed in, everything they failed to do and everything they ever feared crashing down around them. It's powers are beyond anything else, a mystery, a secret that it's believed that not even Shigeo knows. As soon as someone thinks they've figured it out, the rose transforms into something else to continue to elude them. This is it's true power. To transform dreams into reality, the manner it does this however, is noted to be insidious indeed. For to forge something as conceptual and spiritual as a dream into the world, there needs to be a sacrifice of a sort, something needs to take it's place within the dream, something that was already real. In this case, this is the poor opponent who has come in contact with the blue rose, for the moment contact is made, it begins to vampirically syphon the energies which compose them. Starting with their inner Yang. Victims whom have lost all of their Yang energies to the blue rose, but whom retain their Yin, don't die. Instead, they lead a cursed existence. For without Yang, there is no true life left in them, there is only the form left, their bodies entirely translucent and immaterial. They cannot touch anything, they cannot mold chakra, they're for all intents and purposes remade as living ghosts. This is described as the first of Shigeo's many Yin Curses. Cruel aftereffects to having encountered his Language of Flowers and survived, these curses are deeply imbedded in a victims yin energies and by inserting Shigeo's twisted views inside their spiritual vessels, it changes the foundation of their inner harmony. All the known Yin Curses occur as a result of the Language of Flowers, and all of them are without exception breakable, though great skill in genjutsu is required to undo their effects. The Mirage Corps have long believed that the term Genjutsu is restrictive, for it suggests that illusions is the only thing that is genjutsu. But most know that genjutsu can create much more than simple illusions, it can ensnare the senses, implant powerful suggestions, excavate the secrets in a shinobis mind and share information. To break a Yin Curse, the genjutsu practioner must partially enter the Yin domain of the subjects soul by projecting a part of their consciousness inside. They must then find the curse itself, which is visible on the astral plane as bush of blue roses, growing out of thin air. When the roses are "uprootet" the curse vanishes and the victim returns to normal. Precisely as they were before they encountered Shigeo. However, after such an experience, many shinobi become so terrified of genjutsu that it's effectiveness on them increases exponentially. Those few whom have their yin energy removed too, are erased. As their bodies literally vanish without yang energy to keep them tangible, and without yin energy to form their body. There's nothing left to remember them by aside from their possessions, who fall to the ground afterwards. The blue rose is different from the red rose in that, while the red rose flies through the air, the blue rose is conjured solidly, as it sprouts up from the earth at Shigeo's command. As large thorned bushes with magnificent petals of the clearest azure color well out from the ground in all their glory. These bushes can reach great heights, as Shigeo can make them expand at will, sometimes trapping opponents in small forests composed entirely of these blue roses - opponents attempting to escape invariably come in contact with the thorns, and it's the thorns that manifests the blue flowers power. Shigeo has never seen a blue rose burn before, because they don't naturally exist in Sunagakure, and for this reason, it hasn't occurred to him that they can and for this reason, these blue flowers do not burn when exposed to fire. Although, the element does enforce a change on them, transforming them into red roses instead. =Yellow = =White - Purity = =White - Silence = =White - Sorrow = =Black - Death = =Black - Hatred = =Black - Farewell = =Black - Rejuvenation = =Black - Rebirth = Carnations Lilies Other Flowers Illusory Ninjutsu Illusory Projection Illusory Enhancement Stats Shigeo can use Illusory Enhancement to temporarily empower his talents to various degrees, as represented by the ascending values. Category:Male Category:LGBT Character Category:Sunagakure Category:Jonin Category:Njalm2 Category:Approved Technique Category:Characters